Hornets Triumph Over Nuggets

Glen Rice continued his torrid scoring spree with 31 points, including 5-for-6 on 3-pointers, as the Charlotte Hornets beat Denver 118-98 Monday night for the Nuggets' eighth straight defeat.

Rice, averaging 27 points his last seven games, hit 11-of-16 shots from the field. Charlotte shot 55 percent from the field and hit 10-of-15 3-pointers in beating the Nuggets for the sixth-straight time.

Matt Geiger had 22 points and 11 rebounds for Charlotte.

LaPhonso Ellis reached double figure scoring for the 29th time in 30 games with 23 points and 12 rebounds. Johnny Newman had 18 for Denver, which last beat Charlotte on Dec. 3, 1994.

The Nuggets fell to 5-50, the most they have been below .500 in franchise history.

Rice scored 12 of his points in the fourth quarter to offset any comeback bid by Denver. Baskets by Ellis and Newman got the Nuggets to 86-74, but Rice buried a 3-pointer from the corner

Joe Wolf brought Denver to within 92-78 a minute later only to have Rice hit another 3-pointer after a driving layup by teammate Travis Williams. Rice's final 3-pointer of the game with 4:45 left put the game out of reach, 105-88.

©1998 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved